Portraits Speakers 2026

After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics at the University of Passau, Karin Geisendörfer went on to complete a Master's degree programme in International Business Management at FH Aachen. There, she specialised in customer and service management. She then began her professional career at Philips Lighting, now Signify, in international product and marketing management. Her career subsequently took her to Siegwerk Druckfarben AG, where she worked on digital products. She gained further experience at Echometer, a company specialising in digital solutions for team and organisational development. There, she worked at the interface between product strategy and customer support, helping companies to make effective use of digital products.

She has been working in product management at Honestly since 2023. In her current role as Product Management Lead and Customer Success Lead, she is responsible for the further development of digital software solutions and ensures that these are tailored as closely as possible to customers’ needs. This involves gathering customer feedback, prioritising product ideas, coordinating collaboration with development, design and senior management, and strategically developing the product. In addition to product development, she is also responsible for the Customer Success department. This means that, together with her team, she supports customers in using the software successfully and deriving long-term value from it. Furthermore, she is actively involved in areas such as feedback culture, leadership, team development and modern working processes. Another key focus is the introduction of AI tools and automation to make internal processes simpler and more efficient.

Karin Geisendörfer plays a special role at Business Insights. Rather than talking about her career and area of work, as the other consultants will, she will be delivering the keynote address.

The Economics of the Irreplaceable
: Why the Human Element is Becoming Increasingly Important in the Age of AI

AI is currently transforming many occupational fields — including the typical entry-level jobs for graduates of economics degree programmes. Researching, analysing, preparing presentations, evaluating data or compiling reports: many of these tasks can be carried out more quickly and easily by AI. Does this mean that a degree in economics is worth less? Quite the opposite. Specialist knowledge is becoming even more important. After all, only those who understand economic interrelationships can correctly interpret AI results, scrutinise them critically and use them responsibly.

In her keynote speech, Karin Geisendörfer highlights the skills that will be particularly valuable in the workplace in the future: sound judgement, a sense of responsibility, interpersonal skills, creative flair and the ability to actively shape change. It is precisely these skills that make people indispensable, even in the age of AI. Drawing on her practical experience in agile product development, leadership, coaching and HR tech, she offers concrete insights into what students should be mindful of right from their very first day at work — and how they can use AI not as a threat, but as an opportunity for their own professional development.

Serena Grigo successfully completed her Bachelor’s degree in Business Law at FH Aachen in 2020. During her studies, she specialised in areas including mergers and acquisitions, as well as white-collar crime and compliance. She then went on to complete a Master of Laws degree at Westfälische Hochschule Recklinghausen. There, she specialised in finance and taxation and also obtained her qualification as a certified compliance officer.
 

Even whilst studying, she gained a wide range of practical experience in various fields. Her career path took her, amongst other places, to Orizon in the recruitment sector, to Computacenter in executive development, and to Athlon Germany in the legal and compliance department. In addition, she worked for several years as project manager for the ‘Business Law for Education and Talent’ course, where she was responsible for preparing, organising and delivering the course, as well as supporting and mentoring young people.

After completing her Master's degree, Serena Grigo joined the REWE Group in Cologne as a Junior Compliance Officer. There, she advised stakeholders on compliance-related issues, managed the internal whistleblowing tool, assisted in investigating compliance breaches and supported the drafting of group-wide policies. Since 2025, she has been working as a Compliance Expert at ALDI International Services in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In her current role, her responsibilities include the compliance training programme, policy management, and the areas of anti-corruption, competition law and anti-money laundering. A particular focus lies on the automation of processes. Alongside her practical work, she also works as a freelance lecturer in civil law at IU International University and supports students in preparing for their professional careers through practice-oriented teaching.

With over 7,500 stores across four continents – the sun never sets on the world of ALDI SÜD. From a small grocery shop in Essen-Schonnebeck to a trusted partner for many people worldwide: ALDI SÜD stands for ‘Good for Everyone’. A state-of-the-art IT infrastructure also contributes to this success, as retail today is more than just a place to shop. At ALDI DX, innovative digital products and services are developed for staff and customers. This maximises digital added value to offer outstanding quality at the lowest price. Together, we are reshaping the discount retail sector.

In 2015, Tim Halver completed his degree in Business Administration at FH Aachen, during which he spent a semester abroad at the Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología in San José, Costa Rica. After completing his Bachelor's degree, he joined DocCheck AG and undertook an extra-occupational Master’s in Business Administration at the RFH Cologne. Having started as an Assistant Controller, Tim Halver climbed the career ladder step by step. 

Since October 2021, he has been Head of Controlling, responsible for all subsidiaries of the DocCheck Group, and also serves as the company Data Protection Officer for all group companies. The focus of his work lies in the short-term and strategic planning of corporate objectives and the associated performance monitoring. His day-to-day work also includes advising the various Executive Directors on all commercial matters.

DocCheck AG specialises in the growing healthcare market and brings together all stakeholders in the healthcare sector online: its operational activities are centred on the brands DocCheck Community, antwerpes ag and DocCheck Shop. With just under one million users, DocCheck Community is the largest community for healthcare professionals in Europe. This is where doctors, pharmacists and medical students come together to read, research and discuss topics across more than 680 channels and over 75,000 specialist articles in DocCheck’s own encyclopaedia, the DocCheck Flexikon. antwerpes ag is the creative heart of the DocCheck Group. As one of the leading agencies for creative, full-service healthcare communication, antwerpes offers pharmaceutical companies cross-media campaigns from a single source. The DocCheck Shop is the e-commerce service provider within the Group. In the shop, healthcare professionals can find medical and practice supplies as well as innovative products from DocCheck’s own brand, Thïngs.

After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at FH Aachen, specialising in accounting and auditing, Sara Hähner went on to complete a Master’s degree in Auditing, Taxation, Law and Finance at Cologne University of Applied Sciences. She gained international experience during, amongst other things, a semester abroad at Vancouver Island University in Canada and whilst studying for a Master of Professional Accounting at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Even whilst still a student, she gained a wide range of practical experience in the fields of assurance, accounting and controlling. Her career path took her to organisations including PwC, congstar, Microsoft in Seattle and schwartz GmbH, where, as part of her Bachelor’s thesis, she worked on the design and implementation of a cost accounting system. In addition, she became involved at FH Aachen at an early stage, serving, amongst other roles, as a subject tutor for business mathematics, a first-year mentor, and as a member of the Faculty Student Council and Faculty Council for the Faculty of Business Studies.

Since 2020, Sara has been working at PwC in Cologne in the Assurance Industrial Services division. After starting as an associate and subsequently holding the position of senior associate, she has been a manager since 2026. In 2025, she passed her exams to become a tax adviser and chartered accountant. In her role, she assists various companies with their annual and consolidated financial statements in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Her client portfolio primarily comprises subsidiaries of international groups as well as companies from the German SME sector. In addition to her traditional auditing work, Sara is also active in teaching and the development of young talent. She acts as a lecturer for in-house training courses, holds a teaching post at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln) and is involved in university-related work, particularly at FH Aachen. As part of the recruitment team, she also helps to attract new talent.

PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft, PwC Germany, is one of the leading professional services firms in Germany. With more than 15,000 employees, PwC generates revenue across its three business segments: audit and audit-related services (Assurance Solutions), Tax and Legal Services (Tax & Legal Solutions), and Transaction, Process, Technology, Management and Crisis Advisory Services (Consulting Solutions, including Strategy&, PwC’s global strategy consultancy) across 20 locations in Germany, with an overall performance of around 3.27 billion euros.

Fabian Lechner combines business acumen with technological expertise at the intersection of artificial intelligence, medicine and computer science. Following his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (degree awarded in 2019) and Computer Science (degree awarded in 2020) at FH Aachen, he furthered his knowledge by completing a Master’s degree in Business Informatics at Philipps University of Marburg.

After completing his Master's degree in 2022, he joined the University Medical Centre of Giessen and Marburg as a Research Assistant and began his PhD research on the topic of ‘Artificial Intelligence for Medical Applications’. His research focuses, amongst other things, on the adaptation of large language models for medical applications, and he has already contributed to numerous interdisciplinary publications. Since 2023, he has also been working as a freelance Consultant, delivering talks on AI and medicine to specialist audiences from the fields of medicine and computer science. Alongside his doctoral studies, teaching, research and speaking engagements, Lechner has been Head of AI at AGAPLESION gAG in Frankfurt since 2025. In this role, he is responsible for building and providing both disciplinary and technical leadership to a team of 20 specialists, as well as for integrating internal and external AI applications into the group’s core medical processes.

His career path demonstrates that a degree in economics can be the starting point for a career in a highly innovative, forward-looking field — one where technology, management and social responsibility converge.

After successfully completing her Bachelor's degree at FH Aachen, Mira Schlun went on to complete a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Even whilst studying, she gained practical experience at Lindt & Sprüngli, the cosmetics company Dr Babor and the retail firm Westfalen AG. This enabled her to gain early insights into various companies and sectors and to familiarise herself with the different aspects of marketing, communication, sales and project work.

She was also actively involved at FH Aachen beyond her studies. As a tutor, she helped freshers settle into their studies, supported international exchange students in the CIBS programme, and was active in the student body of the faculty (Fachschaft) and on various committees. Since 2022, she has been working in Product & Project Management at Mäurer & Wirtz, where she is responsible for the 4711 and Betty Barclay brands, as well as various influencer and special projects. In this role, she oversees the planning, coordination and management of interdisciplinary teams for the launch of new products. Working closely with Brand Management, her responsibilities include overseeing the implementation of new product designs, as well as the visual approval of all product components for a fragrance and point-of-sale materials.

Mäurer & Wirtz is a sixth-generation family business and ranks amongst Europe’s leading manufacturers of high-quality perfumes and personal care products. With around 370 employees at its Stolberg site, the company combines the flexibility of a local player with the innovative strength of a global enterprise. A key unique selling point is its fully integrated value chain: from concept and fragrance development through to design, production and marketing, right through to international distribution, Mäurer & Wirtz manages all processes under one roof – characterised by short decision-making processes and an uncompromising commitment to quality. 

As a global ‘House of Perfumes’, the company brings together a versatile brand and business model that encompasses own brands, licensed brands, distribution and creator collaborations. Alongside established brands such as 4711 Acqua Colonia, Tabac and Baldessarini, Mäurer & Wirtz is increasingly acting as a platform that scales brands in a targeted manner and facilitates new business models. Through the acquisition of Herbert Stricker Classic Parfums GmbH and The Nose Behind GmbH, the portfolio has been strategically expanded in the luxury and niche segments. With a turnover of 280 million euros in 2025, Mäurer & Wirtz is thus laying the foundations for sustainable growth in a dynamic global market.

After completing his degree in Business Administration and subsequently a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Tibor Sevenheck began his professional career at Schwarz Produktion/Bonback as a project engineer in the maintenance department. There, he focused in particular on optimising maintenance processes and introducing mobile solutions for maintenance. He then moved to Arvato SE, joining the Logistics Engineering division. There, he worked on innovations and the further development of logistics processes, as well as international supplier management. Over several years, he gained experience at the interface between operational requirements, processes, technology and suppliers.

Tibor Sevenheck has been with Arvato SE since 2021. In his role as Senior Expert for Procurement Excellence within Group Procurement, his focus is on the digitalisation, standardisation and international harmonisation of procurement and finance processes. In this role, he supports the further development and harmonisation of processes and structures across various Arvato companies, including those in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Spain and Ireland. Another key focus is the integration of acquisitions and other Arvato companies into shared procurement processes and structures. In addition, he is involved in indirect purchasing and long-tail procurement, as well as the data-driven development of procurement. This includes, in particular, the establishment and further development of Spend Cube, Spend Transparency and data analytics, with the aim of making procurement volumes transparent and creating a sound foundation for the further development of procurement.

His professional career thus combines engineering, process optimisation, digitalisation, supplier management, procurement and data analytics with an increasingly international and group-wide perspective.

Arvato SE is the leading international provider of order-to-cash solutions for consumer-facing industries. Across 85 locations in over 20 countries, Arvato develops innovative, bespoke solutions for its clients. Many well-known and successful companies rely on Arvato. For its more than 17,000 employees, this is both a daily challenge and a source of motivation, as the shared vision is to become the internationally active supply chain management company with the strongest customer focus and the greatest IT expertise. Arvato helps its clients drive their business forward, grow their brand and thus take it to the next ‘level’. A passion for managing and transforming complex processes throughout the supply chain, coupled with a deep understanding of the market and IT expertise, forms the basis for both Arvato’s success and that of its clients.